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The w we 
| Habits 


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|Honey 


Bee 


By 
E. F. PHILLIPS, Ph. D. 


Published by © 
THE A. I. ROOT COMPANY 
Medina, Ohio 


No, 17 
Beekeeper’s 10-cent Libra v 


* 


= - FORTHE He UIE FROHEE ae 3 


‘The aes WwW. Zz. Poi tiadon pied: axes as to Byes 
~ ond combine best. with beekeep eping, said, “The beat 
‘UAL es. 


ing to go with bees is—more be ‘If more bees is 
the slogan, then the best equipment should be installed. 
This would be an outfit that will handle. advantageous- - 
dy the product of 200. or more ‘colonie with a minimum 
of time andlabor. 7 
POWER EXTRACTING ‘OUTFIT. ‘The value of this can ina 
oP be gauged entirely by the number of daysitisused = 
_ during the season. It should be remembered that it. 9 
Gig evse a large amount of extra equipment in theway = 
of extra supers and combs. The extracting must do Re 
done quickly in. order to hold in check the sites 2 a 
tha is sure to follow unless room is given when needed. 
Tho amount thus saved, including reduction of labor 
and time, will materially reduce cost of production. __ 
ENGINE. This should not be selected without due exemina- 
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do well to investigate thoroughly these points before puro asing.c = 
Our new engines, the “BUSY BEE," are selected tor and are. ox: SiS Sere 
-aotly adapted for this kind of work. — Shee Pay oa 
-CAPPING-MELTER. No extraoting-house if . 
one. We have a number of styles and sizes to select from. Illus- — 
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HONEY-KNIVES. For ‘rapid aed: ‘eas yw work our new w steam 
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“the Seay: aseHDAtiON as to. eae ae t 


wie ES 


Sainte without es ies 


The Habits of the 
Honeybee 


E. F. Phillips, Ph. D. 


The A. I. Root Company, Medina, Ohio 
July, 1914 


Publisher’s Introductory. 


The writer of the following treatise on the honey- 
bee, Mr. E. F. Phillips, Ph.D., is the scientist who 
spent nine weeks with us here in Medina investigating 
the honeybee during the summers of 1903 and 1904. 
His articles, which appeared later in GLEANINGS IN 
BEE CuLTURE, added much to our knowledge of the 
bee. All of these articles were of a very technical 
nature; but in this booklet will be found in simple 
language the history and life of the bee. Any one 
without previous instruction can, by reading this book- 
let, gain a practical knowledge of the honey-bee. 

Dr. Phillips graduated in Allegheny College, Mead- 
ville, Pa., in 1890. He taught science in the New 
Brighton high school for two years. He then entered 
the post-graduate department of the University of 
Pennsylvania in 1901, holding University scholarships 
for 1902 and 1903. He was appointed Harrison 
Fellow of Zoology for 1903 and 1904. Mr. Phillips 
is now Expert in Charge of Apiculture, in the Bureau 
of Entomology of the United States Department of 
Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 

May, 1910. 


THE HABITS OF THE HONEYBEE. 


Of all the insect associations there are none that 
have more excited the admiration of men of every age 
or that have been more universally interesting than the 
colonies of the common honeybee. While ants, wasps, 
and the true ants have all come in for their share of 
study, and truly wonderful are the activities of their 
colonies; but on account of its value to man as a 
honey-producer the honey-bee, Apis mellifera, has 
received more attention and its habits are much better 
known. It would seem that, of the making of books 
on bees, there is no end; for in every age men have 
written of these insects, and at present we see more 
new books than ever before. Since there is so much 
to be written about bees, nothing but a mere outline 
can be expected in this article. In this ease, as in all 
others, 1t 1s better to follow the advice of the celebrated 
naturalist Agassiz, ‘“ Study nature, not books,” fer 
time spent with bees in an observation hive is worth 
far more than time spent over bee-books, provided the 
observer goes at the observation in the true spirit of 
an investigator and does not first decide what he will 
see and then find it. 

The ancients held many absurd views concerning 
the generation and propagation of bees, believing that 
they arose from decaying animals, from the flowers of 
certain plants, and other views equally ridiculous from 
our present point of view. The names of Swammer- 
dam, Reaumur, Bonnet, Sehirach, and Huber will 


4 The Habits of the Honeybee 


always be venerated among beekeepers for the light 
they threw on the activities of the hive. It would be 
interesting to note the discoveries of these men and 
their followers if room permitted. Men of the olden 
days were not alone in their absurd beliefs, for even at 
the present day there appears at times a man who 
thinks he has made the wonderful discovery that all 
our old beliefs are wrong; but we are comforted by 
the facet that most of these receive no following. It is 


WORKER-BEE. 


by this means only, however, that we are to arrive at 
the truth ultimately; for by sifting what is correct 
from all the views advanced, and dropping the errors, 
we shall perhaps some day know the true economy of 
the hive. It is scarcely necessary to remark that we 
are far from that position at the present time. 

The honeybee belongs to the group of insects known 
beekeeping can soon recognize each with ease. This 
order includes both solitary and social bees, wasps, 
ants, saw-flies, and some others, all of which are inter- 
esting in their habits. This order is divided into 


The Habits of the Honeybee 5 


families, the family to which the bee belongs being 
known as the Apidae. ; 

A colony of bees consists of one female, capable of 
laying eges, called the queen; some thousands of 
undeveloped females that normally never lay eggs, the 
workers; and, at certain seasons of the year, many 
males, the drones, whose only duty is to mate with the 
young queens. These different kinds of individuals 
can readily be recognized by the difference in size of 
various parts of the body, so that even the novice at 
beekeeping can soon recognize each with ease. This 
colony makes its home in nature in a hollow tree or 


EGG OF QUEEN UNDER THE MICROSCOPE. 


cave; but it thrives perhaps even better in the hives 
provided for it by man. There are many kinds of hives 
—some good and others seemingly made merely to sell ; 
but they must all contain sheets of comb, concerning 
the making of which more will be said later. In a 
modern hive the sheets of comb are placed in wooden 
frames which are hung in the hive-box in such a way 
that they can be removed at the pleasure of the bee- 
keeper. A sheet of comb is made up of small cells in 
which honey is stored by the bees, and in which ege's 


5s” 


are laid, and young bees develop. To study the activ- 


6 The Habits of the Honeybee 


ities of the hive there is no better way to observe the 
bees than to keep a small colony in an observation 
hive. Such a hive consists of but one frame hung in 
a narrow hive with glass sides, so that the bees are all 
visible at all times. No one who is unfamiliar with 
such a hive can appreciate the pleasure and profit to 
be derived from watching a colony under such cireum- 
stances; and to any one who has the ability to appre- 
ciate the wonderful things in nature it is no hardship 
to spend hours by the side of the hive studying the 
every movement of the bees. Of course, it must be 
understood that there will be slight differences in the 
behavior of the bees in such a hive, but these are of 
little importance to the beginner. 

Having now become acquainted with the three kinds 
of individuals in the colony, and the place in which 
they live, we will take up their habits of life. Perhaps 
there is no better way to arrange what is to be said on 
this subject than to follow a colony through a season, 
taking up the various phases of their actions in the 
order in which they oceur in nature. 

In the spring of the year the colony consists of a 
queen and workers, there being no drones present at 
this time of the year. During the winter the bees 
remain quiet, and the queen lays no eggs, so that there 
are no developing bees in the hive. The supply of 
honey is also low, for they have eaten honey all winter, 
and none has been collected and placed in the cells. 
As soon as the days are warm enough the bees begin 
to fly from the hive in search of the earliest spring 
flowers. From these flowers they collect the nectar, 
which is transformed into honey, and pollen, which 
they carry to the hive on the pollen-baskets on the 
third pair of legs. The nectar is taken by the bee into 


The Habits of the Honeybee 7 


its mouth, and then passes to an enlargement of the 
alimentary canal known as the honey-stomach, where 
it is acted upon by certain juices secreted by the bee. 
The true stomach lies just behind the honey-stomach ; 
and if the bee needs food for its own immediate use it 
passes on through the opening between the two stom- 
achs. On its arrival in the hive the bee places its head 
in one of the cells of the comb and deposits there the 
nectar which it has carried in. By this time the nectar 
has been partly transformed into honey, and the proe- 
ess 1s completed by the bees by fanning the cells to 
evaporate the excess of moisture which still remains 
When a cell has been filled with the thick honey the 
workers cover it with a thin sheet of wax unless it is 
to be eaten at once. The pollen is also deposited in 
cells, but is rarely mixed with honey. The little pellets 
which the bees carry in are packed tightly into eells 
until the cell is nearly full. If a cell of pollen be dug 
out of the comb, one can often see the layers made by 
the different pellets. This collecting of nectar and 
pollen continues throughout the summer whenever 
there are flowers in bloom, and ceases only with the 
death of the last flowers in the autumn. 

Almost as soon as the honey and pollen begin to 
come in, the queen of the colony begins to lay eggs in 
the cells of the center combs. The title of queen has 
been given to the female bee which normally lays all 
the eggs of the colony, under the supposition that she 
governs the colony and directs its activities. This we 
now know to be an error, but the name still remains. 
Her one duty in life is that of egg-laying. She is most 
carefully watched over by the workers, and is con- 
stantly surrounded by a circle of attendants who feed 
her and touch her with their antennze; but she in no 


8 The Ilabits of the oneybee 


way dictates what shall take place in the hive. The 
eges are laid in the bottom of the hexagonal cells, 
being attached by one end to the center of the cell. 
The first eggs laid develop into workers, and are 
deposited in cells one-fifth of an inch across. As the 
colony increases in size by the hatching-out of these 
workers, and as the stores of honey and pollen in- 
crease, the queen begins to lay in larger cells measur- 
ing one-fourth of an inch, and from the eggs laid in 
these cells drones (or males) develop. The size of the 
cell does not determine the sex, as will be explained 
later; but the queen almost invariably lays the worker 
egies in the smaller cells, and drone eggs in the larger 
ones. As these male eggs develop and hatch, drones 
begin to appear in the colony, generally about the first 
of May in temperate climates. 

The eggs do not develop directly into adult bees, as 
might be inferred from what has just been said; but 
after three days there hatches from the egg a small 
white worm-like larva. For several days the larve are 
fed by the workers, and the amount of food consumed 
is truly remarkable. The larva grows rapidly until it 
fills the entire cell in which it lives. The workers then 
cover the cell with a cap of wax, and at the same time 
the larva inside spins a delicate cocoon under the cap. 
The worker brood can at once be distinguished from 
the drone brood by the fact that the workers place a 
flat cap over worker brood and a high arched cap over 
drone brood; and this is often a great help to the bee- 
keeper in enabling him to determine at once what kind 
of brood any hive contains. Twenty-one days from 
the time the egg is laid the young worker-bee emerges 
from its cell, having gone through some wonderful 
transformations during the time it was sealed up, this 


The Habits of the Honeybee 9 


stage being known as the pupa stage. For drones the 
time is twenty-four days. 

About the time the drones begin to appear, the 
inmates of the hive begin to prepare for swarming, 
which, to any one watching the habits of bees, is one 
of fle most interesting things which takes place in the 
colony. The workers now begin to make queen-cells. 
In our previous description of the development of the 
young from the egg, nothing was said about the queen, 
and there are some decided differences in her growth 
which we will not take up. 

As was stated earlier in this article, the queen and 
the workers are all females. Schirach, an old authority 
on bees, discovered that the bees could take a young 
worker larva soon after it hatched from the egg, and, 
by giving it special food all during its larval life, 
“royal jelly,” and, by constructing for it a special 
cell, make of the otherwise worker larva a fully de- 
veloped queen. This it is that the workers of a colony 
do when they are preparing to swarm. Several young 
worker larve are chosen as the material for queen- 
rearing, generally located near the margin of the comb. 
The workers now begin to feed these chosen larve an 
extra amount of food, and at the same time the sides 
of the cells containing them are remodeled and enlarged 
by the destruction of surrounding cells. The queen 
(or royal) cell is nearly horizontal at the top, like the 
other cells of the comb, and projects beyond them; but 
then the workers construct another portion to the cell 
into which the queen larva moves. This is an acorn- 
shaped cell placed vertically on the comb, about as 
large as three ordinary eells. As the cell is being built, 
the queen larva continues to grow until the time comes 
for her to be sealed up and enter her pupa state. Al- 


10 The Habits of the Honeybee 


though it takes the worker twenty-one days to com- 
plete its development, the queen passes through all the 
stages and reaches a considerably larger size in but 
sixteen days. 

Before leaving the subject of the raising of queens 
it might be well to state that if, for some reason, a 
queen is killed in the hive, or by chance gets lost, the 
workers can at any time replace her by the same 


QUEEN-BEE, MAGNIFIED. 


method, provided, of course, they have worker larve 
on which to work. In the same way they will replace 
an old queen when she begins to show signs of de- 
creased power of egg-laying, so that this peculiar 
performance is not characteristic of swarming only. 

In the swarming season, at about the time the new 
queens are ready to leave their cells, the old queen 
leaves the hive and takes with her part of the workers, 
this being known as swarming. ‘This generally takes 
place in the morning of a warm pleasant day. It 


The Habits of the Honeybee 11 


might as well be confessed that we know but very little 
about this remarkable instinct of the bee. In the first 
queens are ready to leave their cells, the old queen 
would not allow queen-cells to be constructed in her 
colony, nor has any one told us why she allows it now. 
Neither do we know what starts the actual swarming, 
or what bees, workers, or queen first sets the hive in 
motion. Neither do we know what is the thing which 
compels certain bees to leave with the old queen, and 
why the others stay in the old hive with the young 
queen. Here is plenty of interesting work for any one 
who desires to investigate some phase of the life- 
history of bees; and for the encouragement of the 
beginner it may be added that there are plenty more 
open fields. Since our original hive has now divided 
we will follow the swarm with the old queen, and, 
later, return to the old hive to observe the actions of 
that. 

In the hands of a beekeeper the departing swarm 
will be put into another hive provided he wishes to 
increase the number of his colonies; but in a state of 
nature the swarm will find an old hollow tree or some 
similar place in which to establish itself. The bees, 
before leaving their old hive, fill themselves with honey 
until the abdomen is greatly distended, and for this 
reason it is not necessary for them to collect nectar for 
a day or two, for they have other work to do. Some 
of the bees begin to clean out the new quarters and get 
it fit for occupancy; but most of them begin the con- 
struction of new combs. To do this they suspend 
themselves in curtains from the top of the hive, and 
remain motionless for some time. The wax used in 
building comb is secreted by the workers in eight small 
pockets on the lower side of the abdomen while they 


UNIVERSITY Oy 
yuinois HERA 


12 The Habits of the Houweybee 


thus hang in curtains. Finally, after enough wax har 
been formed, they begin to build. The small flakes of 
wax are passed forward to the mouth, there mixed 
with a salivary secretion to make the wax phable, and 
then are placed on the top of the hive by the first 
comb-builders. Other workers then come and place 
their small burdens of wax on those first deposited, 
and this continues until the combs are finished. There 
is more to comb-building than the mere sticking on of 
wax plates, however; and nothing in all bee instincts 
is more wonderful than the beautiful plan on which 


GROWTH OF LARVAE. 


they build the comb. The cells are hexagonal in shape, 
so that each cell in the center of the comb is surround- 
ed by six others. Nor is this the only remarkable thing 
in their arehiteeture, for each comb is composed of a 
double row of cells, the base of each cell being formed 
of three parts, each one of which is likewise a part of 
a separate cell of the other side of the comb. By this 
method the bees obtain the greatest possible capacity 
for their cells, with the least expenditure of wax. The 
accuracy of the cells of the comb has in all ages been 
an object of admiration of naturalists and beekeepers; 
and while the degree of perfection assigned to these 
cells has undoubtedly been overstated by many writers, 


The Habits of the Honeybee 13 


yet we cannot but admire and wonder at the remark- 
able instinet, almost bordering on intelligence, which 
enables the bees thus to build cells so well suited to 
their purpose. 

The original plan for a cell for storing honey and 
raising brood is a eylinder, and this we find in some 
other bees; but if the honeybee constructed cylindrical 
cells there would be much more waste space and an 
unnecessary expenditure of wax. If we take a number 
of cylinders of flexible material and press them to- 
gether they assume a hexagonal shape lke the cells 


DRONE-BEE—NO POLLEN-BASKET. 


of the comb; but the bees in building do not first 
construct cylinders, but at first hand make the cells 
hexagonal. 

As soon as there are some cells constructed, and even 
before the cells are entirely completed, the queen 
begins to lay eggs, and the workers begin to collect the 
stores of honey and pollen. They also collect in con- 
siderable quantity a waxy substance from various 


14 The Habits of the Honeybee 


trees, commonly called propolis, with which they seal 
the inside of the hive, closing up all openings except 
the one which serves as the entrance. 

On a previous page mention was made of the two 
sizes of cells in the comb. The earhest cells construct- 
ed by a swarm are always worker-cells—that is, cells 
from which workers will hatch, and these occupy the 
middle space of the hive. Later on, the workers con- 


QUEEN-CELLS. 


struet comb with cells of the larger size, from which 
drones hateh when they are used for brood, and in 
which honey is stored. The cells which are used for 
the storing of honey generally slant upward slightly 
to help keep the honey from running out. This mars 
to some extent the symmetry of the comb, but adds 
ereatly to its efficiency. Queen-cells are made only 
when a new queen is to be reared. 


The Habits of the Honeybee 15 


In this way the new swarm prepares for itself an’ 
abode like the one it left; and by sealing up the 
erevices and gathering stores of honey it prepares 
itself for the coming winter. We may now return to 
the colony which remained after the swarming took 
place, to see what takes place there. 

The colony left in the old hive retains all the brood 
and honey stores, and has a newly hatched queen. 
There is then no necessity for wax-building nor for 
sealing up the hive; but this colony is already in a 
normal conditon except that the queen is not yet ready 
to perform her duties, and she will receive our atten- 


HEXAGONAL AND ROUND CELLS. 


tion now. A very young queen receives little attention 
from the workers, but goes about the combs practically 
unattended. When about five days old (the exact time 
depending on the weather), in the afternoon-the virgin 
queen flies from the hive to mate with a drone, or male. 
She first takes several small preparatory flights to get 
her hive located so that she may find it on her return, 
and finally she flies upward in constantly enlarging 
circles high in the air. This far she may be easily 
followed; but few have been fortunate enough to 
observe the actual mating, Sometimes the mating 


16 The Habits of the Honeybee 


takes place at a lower point, and a few men have 
recorded the fact of witnessing the completion of the 
“ marriage-flight.””. The queen, on leaving the hive, in 
some way attracts a great many drones to her from 
all parts of the apiary, provided her hive is located in 
a bee-yard, and the swiftest and strongest drone is 
successful in the race. The other drones often follow 
the queen back to her hive, and for an hour or two 
often remain on the outside of the hive after she has 
entered, but later they return to their own hives. 

The queen returns from the mating-flight in about 
half an hour, carrying with her the generative organs 
of the male which is killed during the union of the 
two. Near the posterior end of the queen is a small 
sac, which, before the flight, is filled with a clear 
liquid; but after her return this sae is filled with an 
opaque fluid; and it is the reception of this opaque 
substance which is the essential thing in mating. This 
liquid contains millions of spermatozoa, or male-sex 
cells, each one of which is capable of fertilizing an egg 
as it glides past the opening of the sac. This supply 
of spermatozoa is almost always sufficient to supply 
the eggs laid by a queen for three or four years, it 
rarely happening that she mates the second time before 
laying. There may be cases in which she mates after 
once beginning to lay, but the evidence for such a 
flight is very small. Since a queen can, during her 
lifetime, lay a total of 500,000 eggs, most of which 
receive one of these spermatozoa, it will be seen that 
the apparatus for preserving them is very perfect, 
since the queen cannot generate more, and they do 
not divide or increase in number in any way. 

The mating of queen and drone never occurs in the 
hive, but always in the air, on the wing. This instinet 


The Habits of the Honeybee 17 


prevents what is known as in-and-in breeding; for if 
the queen mated in her hive she would eae sper- 
matozoa from her brothers or from her sons, and we 
know that such close breeding is undesirable in all 
forms of life. The cause of the undesirable results of 
in-breeding are yet a mystery; but we do know that 
they follow, and this habit of the queen in. mating 
away from her own hive renders close crossing less 
probable. After the queen has returned to her hive, 
the workers remove the male organs. These parts of 
the male are not absorbed by the queen, as is some- 
times claimed; but the spermatozoa contained in them 
are taken into the spermatheca, or spermatozoon-sac, 


eee yeseus 
yeeee Cee 


ae eee 


WORKER AND DRONE CELLS. 


and the rest dries up and is removed. Almost as svon 
as the queen returns from her flight there is a differ- 
ence in the treatment which she receives from the 
workers. It happens at times that she is not received 
kindly after taking her flight, and may be killed by 
the workers, which do not recognize her as their queen, 
probably on account of some new odor which she has 
acquired during her absence. This is rare, however; 
for, ordinarily, she is the object of much care and 
attention on her return. From this time on, whenever 
the queen stops for a moment on the comb, either to 


18 The Habits of the Honeybce 


deposit an egg or to rest, she is surrounded by a dozen 
or so workers that try to feed her, and who rub her 
with their antenne. In about two days after mating, 
the young queen begins to lay eggs in the cells of the 
comb, and this one duty, and no other, she performs 
until her death, never again leaving the hive except at 
the head of a swarm. 


THOSE PETS. 


The colony with the young queen is now in the same 
condition as the one which left the hive; both having 
laying queens, combs, brood, anda sealed hive. Their 
histories, under normal circumstances, are then prac- 
tically the same. Both prepare for winter, and the 
following spring both east swarms again, and the 


The Habits of the Honeybee 19 


cycle is again repeated. Such is the activity of bees 
under favorable circumstances ; but, needless to say, 
this ideal condition is not always Jeera and we will 
now follow colonies under other anager to see what 
happens. 

Let us take a colony with a virgin queen like the one 
left after the swarm was east. It sometimes happens 
that the queen is defective in some way, so that she can 
not fly from her hive to meet a drone. This may be 
caused by mutilated or weak wings, or possibly the 
queen shows no disposition to fly. On the other hand, 
the weather may not be favorable for her flight, or 
there may be drones in the air when she does fly. 
Evidently, any of these conditions will prevent suc- 
cessful mating; and when this occurs we are enabled 
to see one of the most remarkable phenomena of the 
hive. The observer who wishes to study this phase of 
bee activity may bring about the same conditions by 
cutting off the wings of the queen, or by covering’ the 
entrance with zine perforated with holes, which allows 
the workers to pass freely, but which confines the 
queen to the hive, so that it is not necessary to depend 
on chance to bring about what we are now to observe. 

If a queen remains unmated for a period of three 
weeks she 1s incapable of mating, and loses all desire 
to leave the hive to meet a drone. After that time she 
may begin to lay eggs, but, strangely enough, these 
eges produce nothing but drones, and the queen is then 
known as a “ drone-layer.” Obviously, then, drones 
are produced from eggs which have not been fertilized. 
Not all unmated queens become drone-layers; in fact, 
many queens die if not mated, and many others never 
lay at all; but if any eggs are laid they produce only 
drones. The person wishing to verify this strange 


‘SIONITIL ‘NOSIUNOW “NITMOVIN “9 SA'TUV HY HO AUVIdV 


The Habits of the Honeybee 21 


phenomenon should start several virgin queens in 
hives, and probably one or two will lay. 

This introduces us to one of the most remarkable 
phenomena which is known to occur in nature, but it 
is not characteristic of bees alone. In most cases eggs 
disintegrate unless fertilized by spermatozoa of the 
same species. Just why fertilization is necessary is 
still a disputed point among scientists; but we know 
that it is by all means necessary in the majority of 
cases. Yet in many cases in the animal kingdom eggs 
do develop without fertilization, and one of the best 
known eases is the development of the drones of the 
honeybee. ‘To this phenomenon the name “ parthen- 
ogenesis ” is applied. 

This fact concerning drones was discovered by 
Johannes Dzierzon in 1845, and has since been verified 
by many workers on the subject. As the eggs in the 
queen leave the ovaries they pass down a tube called 
the oviduct, to the outside. As they traverse the ovi- 
duct they pass the entrance to the spermatheca men- 
tioned above; and if the egg is to become a female, 
worker, or queen, it receives from the spermatheea one 
spermatozoon which fertilizes it; if it is to become a 
drone it receives no spermatozoon, and, consequently, 
is in the same condition as are all the eggs of a drone- 
layer. Since a normal queen rarely lays a drone egg 
in a worker-cell, or vice versa, provided both kinds of 
cells are present, it would seem that she in some way 
can control the spermatheca; but how this is done is 
still a mystery. 

Another fact which supports the theory of parthen- 
ogenesis is that workers in a colony which is hoye- 
lessly queenless will often begin to lay eggs. As we 
have seen, workers as well as queens are females, but 


22 The Habits of the Honeybee 


they are incapable of mating, and the eggs laid by 
them produce nothing but drones. This entire subject 
of the parthenogenetic development of the drones is 
still but little understood, and here again is a wide 
field of work for one who is willing to devote time and 
energy to the subject. A few facts are well known; 
but around these facts there has been woven a mass of 
evood or bad guesses which must be verified before we 
arrive at the truth. If the theory could be stripped of 
these surmises the whole subject would be much clear- 
er; and one who undertakes to work on this line must 
drop all but well-verified facts. The A. I. Root Com- 
pany has published in booklet form “ The Dzierzon 
Theory,’ by Baron von Berlepsch, which was trans- 
lated into English by Samuel Wagner, and published 
in the American Bee Journal for 1860. This booklet 
contains a fuller discussion of the facets supporting 
this theory, and should be consulted by any person 
interested in the subject. 

Colonies containing drone-laying queens, or workers 
which lay eggs, called fertile workers, can naturally 
not become strong, since no new workers are produced 
to do the work of the colony; and as the old workers 
are killed, or die off in a comparatively short time, the 
colony soon dies out, since the drones produced do no 
work. This can be prevented by the owner of the hive 
by introducing a new fertilized queen to the colony, 
but, of course, in nature the fate of the colony is 
sealed. 

Having followed the course of normal and abnormal 
colonies during a season we are now ready to see what 
takes place in preparing for winter. The entire hive 
is filled with honey, the drones are expelled from the 
hive, and die, and the queen ceases to lay eggs. When 


bo 


9 
o 


The Habits of the Honeybee 


cold weather comes on, the bees cluster together on the 
combs and are in a very inactive condition, merely 
doing enough fanning to keep up the temperature of 
the hive. During the winter the stores of honey are 
consumed, and generally in the spring but little re- 
mains. On a bright warm day in winter the workers 
may take short flights from the hive, but for short 
distances only. After the winter is over they once 
more begin the cycle described above, and year after 
year this goes on to the pleasure and profit of the 
beekeeper. 

In the previous discussion of the habits of the bee 
the practical side of beekeeping has been entirely 
omitted, for it is the purpose of this article to give a 
brief introduction to the actions of these insects in 
their natural conditions. Modern apiculture is made 
possible by numerous appliances which add greatly to 
the ease with which bees can be handled, and also add 
even more greatly to the profit to be derived from the 
care of bees; and a knowledge of practical beekeeping 
adds greatly to one’s knowledge of the habits of bees 
as well as makes possible many interesting experi- 
ments after new facts. By modern methods we are 
enabled to take honey from the bees without resorting 
to the old methods of killing the entire colony; we can 
raise queens at pleasure, and in any number, by bring- 
ing about artificially the conditions under which queens 
are produced; we can extract the honey from the 
combs by centrifugal force, and return the combs to 
be refilled; and numerous other operations almost in- 
definite in number are possible as a result of the care- 
ful work of practical beekeepers. A. diseussion of 
these methods is just as interesting as the account of 
the natural instincts of the bee, but is out of place in 


24. The Habits of the Honeybee 


an article of this size. he veader is referred to any 
one of the numerous books on practical apiculture for 
full details concering these methods. 

Nor must it be supposed that the natural actions of 
the bee have been exhausted in what has beer: written. 
As stated in the first paragraph, volumes have been 
written on bees and their habits, and tlis is but a 
skeleton outline on which far more interesting facts 
can be built. The senses of bees, especially the sense 
of smell, the structure of the different individuals, and 
the adaptations of the parts to the work required of 
each, the natural enemies of bees, and their methods 
of defense—these are but a few of the subjects which 
might be discussed with profit, to say nothing of fuller 
discussions of subjects which have been merely sug- 
gested in the preceding outline. It is a noteworthy 
fact that every person who studies or works with bees 
becomes enthusiastic on the subject; and in this brief 
article should induce some one to take up this line of 
work the object of the article will be fulfilled, and the 
new aplarist may be assured that he is entering into a 
most entrancing field of work. 

And, finally, there still remains much to be learned 
about the bee from careful and painstaking observa- 
tion; and by such work the cause of apiculture and 
science at large will be much benefited. In several 
places mention has been made of unsettled problems; 
but the number could be extended very greatly, and 
each new discovery epens up new fields of work. Here, 
then, is work for those who wish to add to the sum of 
human knowledge in a line of woik which ean be of 
the greatest piretical use fo mankind at large. 


Publications on Bee Culture 


The pamphlets and booklets listed below are 
of more than ordinary interest. Look over the 
list, check the ones you want and we will send 
them at once. Of course you will include remit- 
tance for those for which there is a charge. 


MY FIRST SEASON’S EXPERIENCE WITH THE 
HONEYBEE. By the ‘‘ Spectator” of the Outlook, 
New York. A ten-page leaflet detailing the expe- 
riences of this well-known writer. You will read it 
it through before you lay ‘t down. Free. 


THE BEEKEEPER AND FRU1T-GROWER.—A booklet 
giving actual facts regarding the value of bees to 
fruit, and showing how beekeeping may be doubly 
profitable to the fruit-grower. Free. 


BEEKEEPING FOR SEDENTARY FOLK. Recites the 
actual experiences of an amateur beekeeper. Free. 


TRANSFERRING BEES. A booklet which gives instruc- 
tions and illustrates appliances. If your bees are 
in old box-hives you are not getting half that you 
could out of them, and this booklet will tell you just 
how to transfer them to modern hives. 10 cts. 


THE A BC OF BEE CULTURE. A complete text book 
of over 500 pages, giving iull information on every 
question relating to bees. Valuable to the beginner 
and indispensable to every beekeeper. Price $2.00 
postpaid. 


CATALOG OF BEEKEEPERS’ SUPPLIES, with com- 
plete information, mailed free to any address. 


Tlease send me the items checked above. I 


CICIOSE OD. os nen eine to cover the cost. 
NITE EN er eR ithe cabins Cua leveals, SoMa: « WS ies ae, Mal ree 
| OEE AR os 8 1 a ee AOS RR Rn AE EM AC at 


The Root Observatory Hive 


To meet the increasing demand for a moderate-priced Observa- 
tory Hive, for use in schools and homes, we have decided to man- 
ufacture the style illustrated herewith. This hive is identical with 
our regular, with the exception of the body and super sides, which 
are fitted with glass, together with wooden shutters for closing the 
hive while not observing. This hive permits the keeping of a 
regular colony of bees in a normal condition so that every phase 
of beekeeping may be studied. 


PRICES. 
Full-size L. hive, nailed, varnished, glass—no bees...... $ 9 OO 
Same ready for use, Italian bees, brood, queen........ 20 00 
One-frame hive, no super, nailed, varnished, glass—no bees 3 50 
Same ready for use, Italian bees, brood, queen....... 9 00 
One-frame hive and super, nailed, varnished, glass—no bees 4 00 
Same ready for use, Italian bees, brood, queen....... 10 00 


The A. |, Root Company, Medina, Ohio 


Factory and Main Office 


The above engraving shows the various parts of the Root 
Observatory Hive. The sections for honey are of the most ap- 
proved pattern. The frames in the brood-chamber are the Hoff- 
man, which are the easiest handled. The glass is of the best 
grade, allowing an unobstructed view of the inside of the hive. 
The panels have handles and catches. The cover, super, body, 
and bottom-board can be securely fastened with catches, which 
prevents any accidents. 


Testimonial 


Our observation hive and bees arrived in fine condition, and 
we transferred the bees in the yard, with the whole room of forty 
boys and girls standing around them. The day was cool and 
many bees dropped to the ground, apparently dead, but the 
children found if they held them in their hands and breathed on 
them that they would revive, so it ended by boys and girls having 
hands full of crawling bees. The bees were gentle as could pe. 
and now the children are not afraid of them, and if one gets on 
the window in the room, a boy will pick it off and put it out. 
To say that we are pleased is putting it mildly; we are delighted. 

Very truly, Miss OBERHOLTZER, 

Cleveland, Ohio. Teacher Lakewood Central School. 


How to 
Keep Bees 


By 
Anna Botsford Comstock 


beekeeping? This is one of the most 

frequent questions we have. We ean 

answer most effectually by referring our 
friends to the above-mentioned book by Anna 
Botsford Comsteck. Mrs. Comstock is a writer 
of merit, anything she has to say is worth read- 
ing. Her own experiences as a beekeeper are 
most interesting, and she has told them in such a 
way that the beginner gets a great deal of valu- 
able information by reading her book. 

It is not a technical treatise on the subject, 
but a simple story of the triumphs and defeats 
of the author. You may profit by her successes 
and avoid her mistakes. Whether you have bees, 
expect to keep them, or are merely interested, 
we are sure you will enjoy reading this book. 
Price $1.00 postpaid. Or you ean get it in con- 
nection with a year’s subseription to GLEANINGS 
IN BEE CuutTurE for $1.50. See opposite page 
for particulars regarding GLEANINGS. 


FT are the requirements for beginniag 


THE A. I. ROOT COMPANY 
MEDINA, OHIO 


Gleanings in 
Bee Culture 


Every beekeeper, large or small, ought to read one good 
bee-paper regularly, and, of course, he will want GLEAN- 
INGS. It is the largest bee-paper in the world, and pub- 
lishes the latest and best of everything pertaining to bee- 
keeping from all parts of this country and from foreign 
fields as well. Well-known beekeepers of long experience 
are regular contributors, and any thing new in the bee- 
keeping world receives careful attention from our editorial 
staff. Different methods are discussed and new appliances 
exploited, so the beekeeper who would be really up to date 
must read GLEANINGS. 


There is a great deal of interest, too, in our Poultry, 
Garden, and Home Departments, edited by our Mr. A. I. 
Root. Mr. Root is pretty well known to beekeepers all 
over the world. He spends a great deal of time now in 
making experiments with different poultry appliances and 
systems, and gives the readers of GLEANINGS the benefit of 
his findings. Many of our readers consider his Home 
Department the most valuable part of our paper, and 
subscribe to it for that alone. ‘There is something of 1n- 
terest for every one. ‘The subscription rate is $1.00 per 
year or 25 cents for a six-months’ trial. 


Enclosed find remittance for $........ for 


POR CRT Ss: Soe, MER mRNA Cate Seti P ene) aha oars ole aa ane 


ROOT’S GOODS 


The name of “ Root,’ when applied to 
bee-supplies, means as much as “ Elgin” 
when apphed to watches. 


When you buy “ Root’s goods” you are 
sure of goods made by skilled workmen, 
from the best material. You are never 
disappointed by receiving goods inaccu- 
rately cut, roughly made from inferior 
stock. 

There is nothing that an apiarist needs 
that we cannot furnish, from a complete 
outfit to the smallest single article. 


We began the manufacture of bee-sup- 
plies forty years ago, with an increasing 
trade each year, until now we are the lare- 
est concern of the kind in the world. 

Our prices are right. You can buy our 
eoods near at home. Write for catalog 
and name of agent nearest you. 


THE A. |. ROOT COMPANY, Medina, 0. 


New York Chicago Washington Des Moines 


Lessons in _,, 
Beekeeping ™ 


There is now, and has been for years, a greater demand for 
experienced bee-help than there are men ready for these places. 
Each winter and spring we are obliged to disappoint many large 
apiarists by telling them we do not know where suitable help can 
be found. We have found that many who take our course in 
bee culture by correspondence prefer to go into business for 
themselves, so we still need active young men who have a fair 
knowledge of the subject—men whom we know something about 
—who can be recommended for the places frequently offered. We 
have, therefore, determined to offer a liberal course in 


Beekeeping by Mail 


We shall designate this as course No. 2. The lessons are 
identical with lessons in course No. 1. The time, however, is 
limited to one year from enrollment. The course may be easily 
completed in three to four months. The following is the 


Outline of Course No. 2 


Seventeen Lessons 


IL 


10 Definitions of Terms. IX. Rendering Normal. 

Il. Inmates of the Hive. x Preparing for Winter. 
III. Comb. XG Wintering. 

TV. Handling Bees. XII. Spring Management. 
We Transferring. XIII. Bee-diseases, Symptoms. 
VI. Building up Colonies. XIV. Enemies of Bees. 

VII. The Honey-flow. XV. Establishing an Apiary. 
VIII. Swarming. XVI. Queen-rearing. 


XVII. General Examination. 


Terms of Course 


Complete course, as outlined, -essons, personal answers to all 
questions, including the A B C of Bee Culture (720 pages), and 
GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE (semimonthly) for one year, $5. 

With either the A B OC or GLEANINGS omitted in case you 
have one, $4.00. 

With both omitted in case you have both $3.00. 

Satisfaction guaranteed. 

Use form on following page. 


The A. I. Root Company, Medina, Ohio 


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f teceived the. Jast ‘shipment coda ait" 
: Phey were all right. Every thing came 
7 > that we had ordered 1 in good shape. ... - 
ee ‘ O; C. pas ; 
a “Trwin, © 3 _ June 12. ge aha 


“From ane Other Side of the: World 


Ma « / “Will you kindly bring my thanks to Mr... 
Beene tig es Rul. Root’ for the sending of two. dasheen 


bulbs, which arrived in perfect order? -As 
: we are going into winter just now, I will 
§ try to keep the bulbs till early spring, which 
: comes in the first days of August. - 
Serta . H.W, Kehrer. 
py silos 3 ~ Rushenburg, es April 19. 
A These Talons are a dakohe: Paes is 
- no kick’ coming on any thingy from your. 
icant house so far. Roe 3 
Rew a, § i Pledger 
ae a Alexandria, La, June 2 
aS a ANOLE Soa 
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 


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